Have had the 99 cougar since november 2007. Last week while driving on highway car started to shimmy, pulled over and left front tire flew off. $3100 later I got it back, since I can not keep lugs tight on all tires. Service guy told me "factory" lugs should stay tight but they aren't. Any solutions?

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hard to say what is the symptoms front end shaking or shimmying could be a tire out of balance, bad tire(broken belt, goose egg on the tire). is the tires screaming could be alignment problems. is it pulling to one side or the other could be a hanging break caliper (pulls to side caliper is hanging on) alignment problem (bent or broken tie rod ends) car shakes or shimmy when brakes are applied usually is a bad or warped rotor. the possibility is endless.

The actual caster spec is not very significant - the handling is what counts. The caster will not cause a shimmy. Shimmy could be caused by tire problems, worn or damaged steering or suspension parts, bad shock absorbers or a bent wheel. As long as the vehicle does not pull and the handling is satisfactory, the caster is OK, If the tires are not wearing and the vehicle hamdles OK - don't worry about "specs." I have done a LOT of alignments where the readings did not match the specs, but the result was satisfactory.

This sounds like tie rod ends are going out. Before you remove the old ones, mark on the threads where it currently is seated or you will throw it out of alingment when you put new ones on. You may need to borrow or buy the tool for poping out the tie rod end. They aren't a big deal to change if you have some basic tools and sometimes you don't need the wedge tool either. Once you get the old one out, try moving it around. If it is real loose and moves easily, thats your problem. But the swaying you are describing sound like this is the problem. Could be you steering control arms as well but because the inside of the tires are worn I doubt it.

Alignment has alot to do with the tires not shimmying.. Like zero toe setting. Loose componants like tie rod ends and the idler ar worn. You can ck for excess front end play by holding the front and back of the wheel and pushing and pulling on it, like rocking it. OR have someone rock the steering while you watch where the play is from underneath. By rocking I mean turn the steering wheel back and forth. Look at all th joints and pivot points for excess play, which is, movement not immediate to the rest of the steering system. Tire balance is very important. Wheel hop is a sign of a bad tire and it overtaxes the shock absorber. Shocks don't cause shimmy because they are a vertical movement controlA shimmy is lateral or side to side.Wheel balance weights must be spit. If a 2 oz. weight is needed to balance the tire, Oe once should be on the inside of the wheel and one ounce on the outside directly across from each outher.. Loose wheel brgs will cause shimmy, but they would not last long. Caster setting on the wheel alignment will also cause shimmy. Like on a shopping car. too much caster causes the wheel to start fluttering and is very hard on other componants. This may be why you have worn tie rod ends and a bad pitman arm. Worn control arm bushings and ball joints directly affect titre wear and can only be feltwhen the front end hits a dip and detected by side wear on the tire edges. Summary: replace the tie rod end and have the car aligned. Good Luck, -Ned_ sorry about the book